EdTech Series: Education Access During Covid
June 29, 2021
This blog post was written by Sonya Harvey-Justiniano. Sonya is an intern with the Alhambra US Chamber.
The EdTech Speaker Series is an interactive, online Q&A that occurs monthly. Influencers who specialize in Education Technology (also known as EdTech) discuss the industry. Through the EdTech Series, the Alhambra U.S. Chamber hopes to advance its mission of strengthening education around the world. To learn more about the EdTech startups and companies from the US, Europe and other parts of the world, join the Chamber at our next session! Click here to register.
On June 26th, the chamber hosted an interactive Q&A session with the founder of CL Educate, Satya Narayanan. CL Educate helps individuals at all levels of society to realize their potential and make their career goals come true by providing education at an affordable price. Their work includes establishing 200 test prep centers in 100 cities across India, conducting vocational training programs, and offering integrated support to educational institutions. During this session, Narayanan discussed how EdTech seeks to equalize opportunity and face new challenges in education through technology.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided plenty of opportunities for educational technology to grow. For educational institutions, this meant rethinking how we can learn remotely, outside of our usual comfort zone of a classroom environment. Now that it appears we may soon be able to return to our pre-COVID comforts, we do not have to stop expanding the use of technology in education.
EdTech holds the potential to reduce inequality across the world. Using technology in education can break down barriers in social/economic classes by providing everyone access to quality educational resources, regardless of their location. According to Mr. Narayanan, the EdTech industry was able to assist with the transition to online learning during the pandemic by providing educational materials at very low cost to poor families. For families with access to internet services, there was no need to change location to ensure they received the education they needed. Access to the internet is essential in narrowing the gap between the poor and wealthy, as it makes these educational resources more widely obtainable.
Since internet access is more limited for disadvantaged populations, a technology policy for students could be useful to tackle the issue of inequality. Governments could, for example, require schools to ensure that their students have access to a laptop, and increase spending to expand internet access to rural communities. This is especially important during the pandemic, where many students have no choice but to be removed from their classrooms. Such a policy would assist students without prior access to the internet to benefit from EdTech. It is important that governments invest in the IT infrastructure necessary for all students to succeed, which includes not only learning materials on the internet, but internet access itself.
Mr. Narayanan emphasized that in India, K-12 education is usually available to all people, but higher education is severely limited. Vocational training is also underfunded by the government, even in comparison with traditional four-year programs. Ensuring internet access to remote areas will enable more citizens to have access to educational resources and livestream classes on the internet. EdTech can also strengthen vocational training programs to ensure that this type of education is not neglected and is taken seriously by people looking for future career opportunities. Current EdTech models are focused on the needs of the many, with major educational development targeted to population centers. Moving to a technology-focused model could allow for wider availability of education in a world affected by social distancing.
Mr. Narayanan also discussed the ways EdTech can enable us to adapt to a rapidly changing world. For example, students have been questioning how the Humanities and Social Sciences will stay relevant in an industry-driven world. But Mr. Narayanan argues that these subjects will be involved in all industries one way or another, to facilitate connections between employees or a company and its clients. These disciplines are also heavily involved in developing education itself by adapting curriculum and methods to a technology focused world, and by considering the social aspects of education. EdTech will also enable institutions to incorporate new social exercises to help kids to develop their social skills at a young age, and could include a hybrid teaching model, allowing them to apply what is taught online to the real world.
Technology will continue to play an increasingly important role in our lives, including in the realm of education. As the world continues to recover from the pandemic, new innovations in technology and approaches to education will lead to global changes in how future generations learn and apply their skills. EdTech will not only allow us to meet new challenges head-on but could increase access to education for disadvantaged populations in India and across the world. Satya Narayanan is passionate about the possibilities the industry can offer, and wants countries to take advantage of the benefits it can bring.
The Alhambra US Chamber greatly appreciates the contributions of Satya Narayanan and CL Educate, and their insight into the future of Edtech! Keep an eye out for our next installment in the Future Series: The EdTech Changemakers. Make sure to register here and follow our social media:
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